Seattle smart Dealership

[BeSmart]

I had a long conversation with Ethan of Obrien Auto Group of Seattle area. He will be responsible for setting up and running the Seattle area smart dealership. The location will be next to the Acura dealership in Southcenter area of Seattle, 301 Baker Blvd, Seattle 98188. Their website has information on the reservation process, with links to the smartusa site. He is anticipating having cars by January and starting to fill reservation orders. He did say Penske wants reservation holders to be serviced in order of reservation. If a car is refused it will be passed down the list to the next person. He said the smart got a 4-star crash rating. I failed to get the source of his information. I was too excited about the rating to think of much else. He said production has started on US smarts, ie, most popular models, colours, interiors. This information was harvested off the smart web site, as well as from the reservations. He is hoping to get a couple of cars to use as demos, once they start coming in. He anticipates having all the parts and service knowledge to support the smart. Some of the dealer options may not be immediately available.
He was not sure whether the 450 model can be serviced in his dealership, maybe just the routine care, but no warranty work.
He wants to start smart clubs, have rallies, and maybe races. He was very enthusiastic about the concept of the smart car and it's unique place in the fleet of vehicles in this country.

[SmartBob]

If a car is refused it will be passed down the list to the next person.

So then the dealer tries to contact the next person.....numerically may not even be in the same state. Still in the mean time a walk-in with $20k in his pocket says "I want that one" and the dealer refuses saying sorry you haven't a reservation so it may take a year for you to get one?

Not being argumentative. It just seems difficult to grasp. A dealer is going to have a major hassle on his hands trying to dredge up "in order" who each "next guy" is to get in and buy the Smarty. If this all does hold true, I'll be waving to you Smart owners from my Yaris in January. Mind you I DO like the Yaris a lot but I WANT MY SMART CAR!!

Also, I refuse to buy my Smart if my dealer can't do warranty work. You'd think there would be all parts and warranty support before the car is sold. *shrugs*

[Old smart]

When my time comes to get further into the process, I will keep my choice (read: maintain my hopes) simple enough to be reasonably obtainable. E.g., all I really need up front is a basic passion with black tridion and Designer Red interior. If I get that close, and what is offered isn

[SmartBob]

Right on. That is a good and less stressful approach. For me.....I have time constraints. I can't wait till next fall.

[MicroNut]

Originally Posted by SmartBob

So then the dealer tries to contact the next person.....numerically may not even be in the same state. Still in the mean time a walk-in with $20k in his pocket says "I want that one" and the dealer refuses saying sorry you haven't a reservation so it may take a year for you to get one?

I'm betting each dealer will get a list of reservation of holders in their territory and will work that list. So if someone in dealer X's territory refuses their smart, it'll get offered to the next reservation holder from dealer X's terrirory.

I'm with fishrdnc on this one; I can be somewhat flexible on color, etc., so long as the overall price is somewhere close to the one I ordered.

[BeSmart]

Originally Posted by SmartBob

Also, I refuse to buy my Smart if my dealer can't do warranty work. You'd think there would be all parts and warranty support before the car is sold. *shrugs*

The Seattle dealership will be ready for all warranty and service work on the 451 models, the 2008 US models. The question is whether or how much they can service the 450 models, grey models, brought into the states previous to 2008.

[BeSmart]

Just finished talking with Ethan of O'Brien Acura in Southcenter in Seattle. Seattle apparently has a large number of reservation holders.
General news from the dealer meeting in MI: 35,000 reservations, at least 30,000 cars will be imported. Production is NOT a problem. Mercedes can supply the cars. One of the reasons for limiting the model choices was to meet the demand if it proved to be high. I guess it's looking pretty high. All prospects for the car are being directed to the smartusa web site, which will control access to the vehicle. No direct marketing right now.
Demo cars should be in the dealership sometime in December 2007 for hands on inspection. Dealer options/accessories will be available once a reserved car comes in. Not sure about cruise control, details on this are being worked out. I got the impression, dealer options/accessories will be optional, not forced on to the customer, but definitely available. For example, Brabus wheels and rims as seen at the Smart House.
Dealers are learning about reaching out to the community in ways not previously seen in dealerships: community action groups, arts community, conservation groups. New idea, in the image of smart. Maybe we can open more minds.

[SmartBob]

Good post, Be! Nice info!

[E-SMART]

Googled 'smart center' excluding non-US listings and came across this craigslist post ... ad for sales people, etc. perhaps someone could get a job there and be our insider???


http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/csr/484019269.html

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by MicroNut

I can be somewhat flexible on color.

You smart is flexible too, interchangable color panels!

http://www.obrienautogroup.com/defau...ml&s=newdealer